


Postponed Conversations

by skytramp



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-09
Updated: 2015-11-09
Packaged: 2018-04-30 18:06:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5173955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skytramp/pseuds/skytramp
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>It wasn’t that she was planning on leaving, she <i>wasn’t</i>, she told herself, it was only that she felt that something was wrong. There was a growing dread in the back of her mind, a sense that maybe they weren’t the heroes they started out trying to be, a looming demon with claws like daggers and eyes that burned through her.</p>
</blockquote>
            </blockquote>





	Postponed Conversations

**Author's Note:**

  * For [banjelerp](https://archiveofourown.org/users/banjelerp/gifts).



“Do you think,” Keyleth asked, “that you’ll ever want to stop adventuring?” 

Vax shuffled his feet before leaning back against the wall. They, all of Vox Machina, were settled around the common room in an Inn in the middle of nowhere. Keyleth had sought out isolation, pulling away from the raucous group towards a darker corner, but instead of no one she’d found a lurking and sober Vax, watching over the group like some sort of guardian angel. 

“Only once my daggers stop working.” He replied, and Keyleth looked down at the cup of water in her hands. She was seated at a table and all at once felt grateful for the expanse of heavy wood between her and Vax. 

“So, never then?” She tried a smile but it felt wrong. 

He laughed but it was short, and she couldn’t tell if he was just being polite or if he was sensing the mood. “What about you, Kiki?”

She almost flinched at the nickname. It felt wrong, him using it _now_. “I have responsibilities.” It was true, but it wasn’t an answer, really. 

“I know.” Vax said. He didn’t seem inclined to continue, and Keyleth finished her glass of water, staring at the table. She was surprised when she heard the other chair pull out, and Vax took a seat. “Is it soon then?” 

“I don’t know.” She still looked down, tracing the whorls of the wood beneath a fingertip. 

Vax pushed away from the table, wood clattering against wood and stood quickly. “Well, make sure you say goodbye before you leave us, Princess.” He walked away before she could respond. 

Keyleth looked back at her empty cup. She could still hear the venom in Vax’s voice, more poisonous than his daggers. 

 

Two hours later found Keyleth standing outside the inn, chilly in the cold air. The rest of Vox Machina had wandered back to their suite of rooms, and she hadn’t seen Vax after he had walked away from her. 

It wasn’t that she was planning on leaving, she _wasn’t_ , she told herself, it was only that she felt that something was wrong. There was a growing dread in the back of her mind, a sense that maybe they weren’t the heroes they started out trying to be, a looming demon with claws like daggers and eyes that burned through her. 

“You’re going to catch a cold.” His voice came from the shadows and Keyleth was so startled she nearly yelped. 

“Thank you for your concern.” She kept her voice even, staring out over the deserted street. 

“Are you going to come inside?” 

She didn’t answer. He shouldn’t be concerned, not with how he’d dismissed her earlier, but she couldn’t read his tone in any other way. There was a shuffling next to her and then a warm cloak was wrapped over her shoulders. She looked over to see Vax retreating back to his place in the shadows, almost completely out of sight. She could still feel the warmth from his body in the fabric where it pressed against the bare skin of her upper arms. 

“I meant it, you know, when I said I wanted you to say goodbye.” 

“Oh?” She remembered the tone, the anger just below the surface. He had meant that?

“Not the Princess part, I mean. Gods I’m shit at this. I’m sorry, I was being an ass, but…” She looked towards him and thought she could see him running the palm of his hand over his face. 

“I wouldn’t leave Vox Machina without saying goodbye.” She said, gentler. 

“No-- Not them.” He sounded frantic, almost panicked, and he groaned softly before continuing. “I just meant, don’t leave without saying goodbye… to me.” 

She found herself pulling the cloak tighter around her shoulders as she looked at him. It was dark, and she could still barely see him, but he looked wrecked, worrying at his shirt and running his hands through the loose strands of his hair. 

“Okay.” 

He froze, fingers in his hair. “Okay?” 

“I promise to not leave you without warning.” 

“Kiki, I…” His voice trailed off. 

The night suddenly felt colder, but instead of tightening the cloak more, Keyleth pulled it off her shoulders and held it out to Vax. “Goodnight.” She said, waiting for him to grab it. 

He took a step forward and folded the fabric around his hands. She could feel his eyes on her and when she looked up from their hands he didn’t look away. 

“Goodnight, Keyleth.” He replied, just a second too late, breaking their eye contact and she stepped away. 

She made it back to the room she shared with Vex in a daze, shutting the door behind her quietly before sinking back against the worn wood. Her breath was caught in her throat, choking her, and before she understood what was happening she felt tears rolling down her cheeks. 

_Soon,_ she thought, she’d have to leave soon, or she’d never be able to.


End file.
